1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an oxidation process such as the oxidation of ethylene to ethylene oxide wherein the oxidation is carried out using a fixed bed solid catalyst which comprises a mixture of a solid active oxidation catalyst such as a supported silver catalyst together with an inert diluent solid which has been treated with a base.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of ethylene oxidation to ethylene oxide, it is taught to use beds of graded catalyst activity (British Patent 721,412) and to provide systems where reactor effluent is rapidly cooled by contact with inert solids; see U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,061,659, 4,376,209, 5,292,904, and 4,642,360.
A problem which has existed in such systems where the oxidation catalyst has been diluted with inert material has been the tendency for the inert diluent solid to actually promote degradation of the desired product. In other words, the inert diluent is generally not completely inert but rather has active surface sites which promote product loss.